


Making Impressions

by Kalorii



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-22
Updated: 2013-02-22
Packaged: 2017-12-03 07:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/695636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalorii/pseuds/Kalorii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After three years of officially dating, it's time for Aster to meet Jack's parents. They were already lukewarm to Jack's coming out so can Aster help them accept him as he is?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Making Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prompt given to me on Tumblr from flytoreador! The prompt was:
> 
> "One, Human!AU with Bunny or Jack meeting the other's parents."
> 
> This prompt is basically everything I thought I'd never actually write. I've warmed up to human!Bunny and also a modern AU with parents that have to be made up on the spot. I really hope it turned out all right.

"Will ya stop fussin'?" Aster complained as his boyfriend's hand tugged at his shirt again. He gently swatted him away then reached out to put his hands on the others' shoulders. "You're wound up tighter than that rubber band ya flicked at North today."

Jack sighed and cringed before he managed a small smile. They were standing outside of the Overland-Frost abode, his parents waiting inside to meet their son's boyfriend of over three years now. The teen squirmed out of the grasp that Aster had on his shoulders, reaching up to run a nervous hand through his platinum blond hair. Equally anxious blue eyes locked on the Australian, just looking him up and down. "I just want you to make a good impression. You know how my parents reacted when I told them I was in love with you."

How had he ended up with this wild creature as the one who held his heart? He was one year older than him and already out of school. They were both waiting to go to college together. They'd met when Aster had exchanged schools for the second time, the first being the initial move from Australia to California. The second exchange brought him to Virginia, the year before he turned fifteen. Jack and his group of friends had done their best to bring the rough teenager into their fold and, despite having wonderfully explosive arguments, they'd fallen in love.

It had been hell trying to come out to his parents. Jack had wished that Aster could have been there as he awkwardly told his family that he'd fallen in love with another man and those times he'd gone to "hang out with friends" were actually "go on a date" nights. His sister Mary had been extremely supportive of him but that was no surprise. The two were so close that Jack almost thought he could get away with anything. His parents were another story, his father being slightly critical while his mother awkwardly dealt with the fact that her baby boy would never bring home a pretty girl he would settle down with.

Now it'd come to this: a meeting with his parents who were probably just waiting to rake Aster Bunnymund over the coals with embarrassing questions. It didn't help that his boyfriend had tattoos on his arms and had just barely been stopped from getting a matching one on his forehead. Being told it would be hard to conceal had ensured that he would probably not try that any time soon. His skin was always tanned and, despite living in the US for so long, he'd picked up nothing but the Australian dialect. It being the height of summer, he'd arrived at Jack's house wearing his usual white tank top, khaki shorts and sandals which showed off everything that Jack was sure his parents would disagree with. He didn't even get rid of the usual stubble he had on his jaw but at least his black hair had been brushed out.

The door to the house flew open and both were knocked out of their thoughts, Jack's sister standing in the doorway. She let out a small squeak as she saw Aster, grabbing her brother's arm and lightly bouncing in place. "He's gorgeous!" she gushed, completely oblivious to the dark blush that now spread across Jack's cheeks.

"Come on," he muttered, grimacing as he looked pitifully up at his boyfriend. There was no help there as Aster merely tried to stifle a laugh, his hand coming up to cover his mouth. Knowing that he was on his own, Jack managed to pry his sister off of his arm and locked his blue eyes with her brown ones. It was as he moved that he caught a glimpse of his parents standing behind her and he tried not to shrink under their critical gaze.

"Good evenin', mister and missus Overland-Frost." Aster didn't let any silence hang between them as he reached out a hand, a smile on his lips. The usually rough nineteen-year-old firmly shook Jack's father's hand and then did the same for his mother. "It's nice to finally meet ya."

"Likewise. Come in, won't you? Dinner will be ready soon." Giving his son a small smile and a nod, Jack's father went inside while his mother hesitated just a little.

"Let's go, mom, you're letting all the mosquitoes in," Mary interjected, shooting Jack a worried glance before ushering her mother inside.

It was Aster who grabbed Jack by the arm and led him inside, shutting the door behind him as he kicked off his sandals. He turned to look at Jack, leaning in before he hesitated, clearly wanting to reassure his lover by giving him a kiss. He stopped himself and lightly patted Jack's cheek. "Wake up, ya gumby," he muttered, a bit of urgency in his green eyes.

Shaking his head, Jack nodded and kicked off his own shoes which, unlike Aster who had carefully set his shoes near the others, he left lying around without caring. He bent down to pull off his socks which he shoved into the shoes, always preferring to go barefoot whenever he could. "If my mom starts showing you baby pictures, could you be nice enough to look away?" he said nervously, trying to joke his anxiety away.

Aster laughed softly and motioned for Jack to lead him somewhere inside the house he'd barely seen before. Steeling himself, Jack led his boyfriend to the family room where his father was, both of them sitting on the sofa. It seemed that Aster wasn't anywhere near as nervous as Jack was, the Australian teen stretching out comfortably. He could almost feel the eyes boring into the both of them, not daring to look until he felt familiar fingers intertwine with his own. Looking up, he saw his father's lips quirk up before he returned to searching for a TV station to put on.

"So, Jack tells us you're both going to the same college," Mr. Overland-Frost said, finally setting down the remote. Though it was clear this was awkward for him, he was making an effort to be personable.

Not flinching away, Aster nodded and shifted to sit up. "That's right. I had a choice of 'em but Virginia Tech's the better of the three." He chuckled, shooting a glance over to Jack who smiled back. "It's the only one that I wouldn't have to move for. Since I've moved twice already, I'd kinda like to stay in one place."

This seemed to break the ice and Jack relaxed as they conversed, talking about sports they shared in common as well as the near future of college. The harder questions would more than likely be when they were all together and it felt like they'd only just sat down before they were called to the dinner table.

Jack was seated beside his boyfriend while his parents took their places at either end of the table. What was routine for them now felt so dreadfully intimidating. His father was clearly at ease now but his mother was another story. She was cordial enough but she kept shooting critical glances at the bared floral tattoos on Aster's tanned skin.

"This looks great, mom," Mary said, nodding to their dinner then looking at her brother.

Forcing himself to stop thinking so much, Jack took the mashed potatoes as they were handed to him. "I hope you made extra or I'll be really disappointed," he said, hoping it would help to lighten the mood.

"So he eats just as much here as he does anywhere else?" Aster teased with an arched brow, nodding a thanks to Jack's father as he was handed the roast beef. "Can't say I blame him, though. I don't get this kinda food at home."

Clearly Mary had been trying to get her mother to stop being so tense while they'd prepared dinner and it was her who looked at her mom, trying to will her to say something. As if knocked out of a trance, she let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, Aster. You seem like such a nice man and I'm sure you love Jack as much as he loves you. It's all a little overwhelming."

There was only the sound of cutlery on Jack's part as he heard those words, cringing as he looked over at his boyfriend. He knew that Aster had a short fuse though he wasn't the physical type unless he absolutely had to be. The tensed jaw and furrowed brow made Jack think the worst. "Mom...," he began, stopping when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"I know," Aster said, looking to Jack then to his mother. "It wasn't easy for my pop to accept, either. All we're askin' for is understandin'. If you can't give us your blessin' then I'll understand but nothing will make me stop lovin' Jack. I still have to stop my pop from tryin' to set me up with pretty little sheilas. My mum passed when I was still an ankle biter so I don't know if she'd be proud of me. I like to think she would be."

Pausing for a moment, the older teen reached up to ruffle Jack's hair. And here he thought that his parents would be the embarrassing ones but he swatted at the rough hand and tried to smooth down his always mussed up hair. He looked shyly over at his mother, silently begging for her to understand. He loved Aster like he'd never loved anyone before. The very idea that his decision would break his bond with his family tore him up inside and he'd spent a lot of time before this day trying desperately not to lose his mind. He thought up the worst scenarios, being told to pack up and leave once the reality of the situation hit home. He loved another man, he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with this man and he wanted the love and support of his family along the way.

Clearly trying to break the tension, Mary and her father started eating and Jack followed suit. He was anything but hungry at this moment while Aster calmly nodded to Jack's mother then started eating as well.

"It was difficult to accept at first but I see that Jack made the right choice."

The words made Jack stop, his fork hanging an inch away from his mouth. His father smiled at him then nodded, returning to his meal. It was one weight lifted from his shoulders and he was sure it was the relaxed conversation before dinner that had helped that. Once more he found himself looking to his mom, trying to will her to say something.

She ate quietly but he knew that she was more than likely mulling over Aster's words. Eventually she looked to Jack, reaching out to put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "As long as you're sure that you're happy, I can try to understand," she said, her eyes flicking up to Aster who nodded to her.

Inwardly, Jack wanted to just run around the room and yell to the entire neighbourhood that he'd gotten through this. It wasn't full acceptance on both of their parts but it was understanding and that was all he'd ever ask for. He straightened himself then looked between his parents and smiled. "Thank you," he said, feeling the reassuring weight of his boyfriend's hand on his back. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he looked to Aster whose smile pretty much said "I told you it would be fine."

Things _were_ fine as they spent the rest of dinner talking about more serious things than sports. As Jack had expected, his boyfriend was grilled about future prospects. To his credit, Aster only got irritated at a handful of questions mostly pertaining to the fact that this seemingly gruff man was actually very much into nature. Jack had long since stopped ribbing him about his love of flowers since he was so good at it but he knew it was a bit of a shock to anyone who met him for the first time.

Once dinner was done, Aster was the first to get up and take the plates away. He practically demanded to do the dishes and, for once in his life, Jack volunteered to help instead of being forced into it. The last of the empty plates were brought in just as Aster had begun filling the sink with water.

"That went well," Jack muttered, letting out a nervous breath.

"I told ya everythin' would be okay," Aster said, giving his lover a pointed look before he started piling some of the pots into the sink that wouldn't be done in the dishwasher. "We'll be okay."

Jack hummed lightly as he filled up the dishwasher with the plates from dinner, stopping for a moment to turn and look at his lover. He didn't look around to see if anyone was watching before he kissed Aster on the cheek, feeling as he had the day he'd admitted his feelings for him. "I know we will. I just wanted everything to be all right, to be perfect."

Shaking off his wet hands and wiping them on a towel, Aster turned to look at Jack with a slight grin. "There's no such thing as perfect, frostbite," he said, using the nickname he'd used since Jack had bleached his hair, claiming it matched with his blue eyes better. "We can get close to it but we'll always have somethin' in our way."

Wrapping his arms around Aster's waist, Jack shrugged, just wanting to be close right now. He was stubborn, they both were, and it was difficult sometimes to admit that he just wanted affection. It seemed he wasn't the only one or Aster had learnt his cues by now as his face was angled up and his lips were captured in a loving kiss.

A cough made them both break apart as the rest of the family stood in the doorway bordering the kitchen with the family room. Mary was giggling as she turned away with a small blush on her cheeks while their parents both tried to not look like they'd walked in on the two doing something dreadful.

It was Jack's mother who finally broke a smile, a light laugh coming from her. "We wanted to ask if you'd like to go out with us to see a movie, Aster. Our treat."

"Of course, if you'd just like time alone, we can arrange that," Jack's father said with a knowing grin.

"Dad!" Jack grumbled, dragging a hand over his face. "It's not like that!"

"Just use protection, dear."

" _Mom!_ " Jack felt like he was going to just burst into flames, the heat on his cheeks intensifying as he saw Aster just grin at him. He was enjoying this, the bastard. "Will you stop looking at me like that?" the teen snapped, reaching over to lightly slap his lover's arm before he returned to the task of putting away the dirty dishes.

Aster just laughed and, though he couldn't see him, Jack knew that he was probably looking at him. "If you're offerin', I'd be glad to join."

As irritated as he was at what had just transpired, a small smile crossed Jack's face. Things would be fine from here on out. There would always be bumps in the road but they'd get over them together.


End file.
